Actually the unmanned projects are done relatively cheaply for the amount of scientific payoff they return. And at a price it would be hard for a private company to beat.

It&rsquo;s the manned missions that are not &lsquo;cost effective&rsquo;. When you put people in space it becomes first, and above all else, a round trip survival mission. If the mission can increase the knowledge base, well that&rsquo;s nice too.

As far as the round trip part- there has got to be people that are smart and trustworthy enough to not want to come back to earth. They would be a true star trek type hero, but people would throw a fit! Imo, it will happen, eventually.